Clayne Crawford would like to set the record straight regarding his dismissal from Lethal Weapon. In May, Fox announced that the show had been renewed for a third season—but Crawford, who co-starred alongside Damon Wayans for the show’s first two seasons, would be replaced by Seann William Scott. Bad blood between Wayans and Crawford had already spilled onto social media, along with accusations from Wayans that Crawford was abusive on set. Soon after Fox’s announcement, Variety published a series of damning recordings, corroborated by sources who worked on the show, that depicted arguments between the two stars, as well as a profane outburst from Crawford. In a recent podcast interview, Crawford admitted that he never expected to be fired, even despite his behavior.

“It’s a little different when you replace Becky [on Roseanne] or the mom off of Fresh Prince,” Crawford said on the podcast Drinkin’ Bros. After all, he was the co-lead of the series, rather than a member of its supporting cast. “If they’d replaced the Fresh Prince, we’d have been like, ‘What the fuck are we watching anyway?’ That’s why I just didn’t think it was possible. I just didn’t think they were going to get rid of me, I guess.”

Crawford also claimed that he never received a phone call to notify him that he’d been fired. “I thought they’d give me a buzz,” he said. “Just a jangle? Just grab two cans and a string and just be like, ‘You’re not coming back. We feel like this is the Damon Wayans Show and people just don’t like you. So go the fuck back to Alabama, you dumb hick. Thanks for playing.’”

Crawford had addressed earlier accusations of bad behavior on set in an Instagram post, admitting in April that he had been reprimanded twice for his actions. “I take great pride in treating everyone in life with dignity and kindness,” Crawford wrote. “I am very grateful for my job, and I work extremely hard at it. I have a responsibility to do good work for my co-workers, for my family, for my home state, and most especially for the fans. I hope they will stick with me, and stick with the show.”

Speaking with Drinkin’ Bros, though, Crawford said it was Warner Bros. Television president Peter Roth who advised him to apologize to Wayans. “I was like, ‘What the fuck? Peter, why would I apologize publicly because he and I had a riff on set?’ And he’s like, ‘Clayne, that statement alone tells me you don’t want to come back.’” After a stunt went awry during an episode Crawford directed—resulting in a piece of shrapnel hitting Wayans—Crawford claims Wayans refused to interact with prop guns or perform stunts because he didn’t trust his co-star or the crew with his safety. An investigation cleared Crawford of any wrongdoing on set, but he was still fired.

As for the tapes in Variety? Crawford claimed he knew they were going to be released because people involved in the show had allegedly been using them to blackmail him “for months and months—the entire second season.”

Variety’s report focused primarily on two recordings. In the first, Crawford told Wayans, “You’re the biggest crybaby pussy I’ve ever met in my life”—to which Wayans replied, “Well, suck this pussy’s dick.” In the second, Crawford could be heard off-camera yelling belligerently about excessive background noise during a shoot at a Los Angeles public pool, which was supposed to be closed for filming but ultimately was not. According to Variety, Crawford was yelling about noise coming from patrons, which included children, who were within earshot. “Shut the fuck up!” Crawford could be heard yelling in the recording. “Goddamnit Newman, fucking, they’re right here! Get somebody in here with a fucking walkie and shut ’em the fuck up! Or did we not pay for this fucking place? If we did, shut ’em the fuck up!”

The first argument, Crawford said, resulted from his frustration regarding scheduling adjustments that resulted from Wayans calling in sick, despite later making clear he was not ill. Regarding the second tape, Crawford denied that there was a pool, or that any children were present for his outburst—a claim he characterized as a “blatant fucking lie.” He said he and the crew had been filming a three-page scene for eight hours, and were behind due to the number of times production had been forced to stop due to the noise. “I snapped,” Crawford said. “Should I have gone to my trailer? 100 percent. Should I have just gone and waited? That’s what I was instructed to do when there was a problem—you go sit in your trailer and you lock your door and you take a nap. . . . Hollywood is very sensitive, so I should not have screamed and yelled, right, because it’s a bunch of very delicate flowers out there.”

Representatives for Fox, Warner Bros. Television, and Damon Wayans did not immediately respond to V.F.’s request for comment.